RE: Four-cylinder Cayman at the Nurburgring

[Gilhooligan]

Silverbullet767 said:

What is it with the BANG into gears?

The Mercedes A45 has that same sound.

Backfire? Don't Audi purposely dump unburnt fuel into the exhaust when changing gears for that same sound.

[J4CKO]

matsoc said:

Maldini35 said:

A lighter, sharper, 4 cylinder model makes sense in so many ways.

Hopefully they'll keep working on the sound.

Caymn with turbocharged 4 will be heavier than Cayman with 2.7 6.

Not saying it will be lighter but what makes you think it will be heavier, you lose two cylinders, a third of the crank, some engine block, 8 valves and associated valvetrain but gain a turbocharger, intercooler and associated pipework, cant see it being a whole lot different to be honest.

[rlw]

What weighs more - two extra cylinders or a turbocharger or two? I don't know but the possibility for a bit of weight loss is there.

I think the car sounds good in the vid, a bit like an older 930 turbo or a 934 which can't be bad.

[Vetteran]

Now the best looking car in the range. Put a decent engine in it.

[hwajones]

Reasonable to expect 220-240bhp from this engine?
Still leaving enough of a market for the higher 6 cylinders...

[Gilhooligan]

The Alfa 4C managed to sound quite good for a 4 cylinder. Lets hope this will too when its finished as the sound in that spy video isn't that promising.

[ManOpener]

rlw said:

What weighs more - two extra cylinders or a turbocharger or two?

I think the answer to that question is "both and neither".

Depending on a whole myriad of different factors- turbocharger size, positioning, cooling, any internal alternations, the material the engine block, crank, pistons, rods and head are made from, any other accompanying changes to the cooling system, drive train and ancillaries, either could be lighter.

[red_slr]

So are we thinking 2.2 TT?
Must be good for 300/300 even without much boost.
Don't think it will save much weight though, unless they go with a whole new thing (tm) on the engine i.e bespoke rather than just cutting down the current 6 to 4 and bolting on the turbo(s).

[Mermaid]

hwajones said:

Reasonable to expect 220-240bhp from this engine?
.

Plenty for 99% of people.

The 930 Turbo (993RS) was only300ps, and the 964RS 260. Add value by lightness, design, economy. innovation.. Power really does not matter that much over these numbers.

[kambites]

I've no problem with a four-pot. I could not, however, live with a turbocharger in a Cayman.

[daytona365]

Don't see the point. How much would they save by omitting two cylinders ? Presumably the rest would still have to be up to standard, to cope with a 'Screaming four' ?

[smilo996]

Alfa 4C front lights and back to the old school Porsche sound. What is not to like.

[zeppelin101]

daytona365 said:

Don't see the point. How much would they save by omitting two cylinders ? Presumably the rest would still have to be up to standard, to cope with a 'Screaming four' ?

It's not about weight, it's about cycle emissions. Not just CO2 either.

Even on the new cycles proposed this will perform better than the 6 in that regard.

[soad]

Are people really surprised by this? Downsizing is in!

The Macan is being offered with a 4-cylinder turbo in some markets (Asia?), but we all know that it's just a re-bodied Audi Q5...

[kambites]

soad said:

Are people really surprised by this? Downsizing is in!

Indeed. I'd be surprised if the four-pot doesn't make up 80% of the Cayman/Boxster's sales when it's launched.

[crofty1984]

Kookanoodles said:

"Porsche purist": someone who has never heard of the 356.

Or the 912, or the 914, or the 924, or the 944...
In fact, I'm sure Ferdinand Porsche oversaw the development of a beetle powered by wood/coal.
And don't forget those Porsche tractors!

[Soupie69uk]

I think it will be great for basic tuning, remap etc. and more serious tuning, larger turbos etc. That interests me quite a lot.

I am sure they will keep a 6 cylinder Cayman and have 4 cylinders in different states of tune. I can live without the sound of the 6 for the better tuning potential.

So hopefully this will open up Porsches to a whole new type buyer. Obviously I know there is currently Porsche tuning but this is a bit different. More bang for buck.

[Gorbyrev]

dukebox9reg said:

Baryonyx said:

Gorbyrev said:

Turbo flat fours can sound very, very good (burble!).

Will Porsche being using an unequal length manifold to give that Subaru warble? I doubt it!

Subaru doesn't even do that anymore.

All true and I can't see the unequal length headers being used if that had a detrimental effect on efficiency ( Maxtorque). However boxer 4's still tend to sound better than inline 4s.

[kambites]

I'd have thought boxer fours with equal length headers would sound identical to inline fours, at least in terms of exhaust note. I certainly can't see any reason for there to be any difference. The GT86 certainly sounds much like an inline four.

Is there actually any advantage in equal length headers if you're going to turbocharge though? I'd always assumed that turbo-charging made scavenging almost impossible because of the damping effect it has on exhaust gas pressure.

[E65Ross]

kambites said:

I'd have thought boxer fours with equal length headers would sound identical to inline fours, at least in terms of exhaust note. I certainly can't see any reason for there to be any difference.

The GT86 certainly sounds much like an inline four.

isn't it NA too? Plus, it don't sound a patch on a Cayman S!